Valve stem for pneumatic tires and accommodating wheel rim therefor



VALVE STEM Fon PNEUMATIC TIRES ,AND ACCOMMQDATING WHEEL RIM TmuwoavFiledjusre .21, 1919A 'haethwt l Ff? /5 ,4 Z5 E@ 32 Ama 79 w25.1,532,658

.5. E. 'HALE VALVE STEM FOP. PNBUMATIC TIRES AND ACCOMMODATING WHEEL RIMTHEREFOR mma Jun@ 2l, 191s 2 shwmheez 2 mmm , IIIIIIIIII /l v 'Y 2 II Wentre estates formen JAMES E. HALE, OF AKRON, OHIKO, ASSIGNOR TO THEGOUD'YEAR vTIRE RUBBER COM- PNY, F AKRON, OHIO, A CGBPOBATION OF GEIQ.

VALVE STEM FOR PNEUIVIATC TIRES AND ACCOIVIMODATING 'WHEEL REM TEEREFE.

Application vfiled. June 21,

/'o ZZ-@Mom it may concern.:

Be it known. that latins E. citizen of the United States, and residentot Akron, Ohio, have invented` new and useful Improvements in ValveStems ior Pneumatic Tires and Accommodating lVheel Rim "Theretoi, otwhich the following is a specification.

My invention relates broadly to a new and useful means ivherebypneumatic tires may be easily mounted on and as easily removed fromivheel rims; and it has particular reference to a valve stem so shapedas to insure this Afacility ot' mounting and demounting tires, and to acooperating rim accommodating the valve stem.

It is Well recognized by those familiar with the use of pneumatic tireson vehicle wheels, and especially by those whose work involves-themounting and `demounting of heavy pneumatic'truck'tires, the Weights ofot `which vary from to 300 pounds, .that those operations are usuallyperformed only with the greatest difiiculty, requiringr as they i' do,not only a. high degree of skill, but

great strength and exertion as Well.

In practice, hitherto, it has been difficult, ivliere the rim' has lbeenprovided with alreceiving aperture for the valve stem, to nianipulatethese ponderous tires to bring theV valve stem in registernvitli theaperture, iir mounting the tires, and when the tires were beingdemounted great difficulty has also arisen in pressing the valve stemdown into the aperture and in turning the tire back and forthfto finallypull it loif 'the Wheel, for not infrequently the. parts stick from rustor otherwise,' and it becomes almost ,impossible to' sutiiciently iexthe stem.

Furthermore, the feiloes of Wheels on Vwhich such tires are mounted areof various thicknesses, necessitating the use of Valve stemsot variouslengths, which makes it almost essential that dealers should keep onhand a supply of inner tubes having valve vstems of different lengths.

Further, the use of straight valve stems has frequently rendered theminaccessible for the purpose of intlating the tires, especially, it thevalve stems be long enough to pass through thick felloes, andconselLiLi-i, aV

- Figure 3 is base showing isis. serial no. 305,328.

queiitly leave but little space between theirouter ends and the Wheelhub.

Numerous expedients have been tried to overcome the difficulties aboveyreferred to, but so fai' as l am aware none' of these devices has 'metwith practical success.

With the above diiiculties and objections in mind., it has been myobject to provide practical means for overcoming them.

Si further object of my invention is to provide a. valve stem soconstructed that when the tire is in position the valve is readilyaccessible for attachment of a, hose thereto to iniiate the tire. -l

A still further object of my invention is to provide a valve stein otsuch a form and a rim ot such construction to be used in colinectionwith said valve stern, that the tire p may be slid onv and off the wheeltransversely Without resorting to a circumferential movement of the tireon therim, thereby facilitating the lmanipulation of such sible to usewith facility a tire and inner tube of greater size than that which therilil was originally designed to accommodate. 'J p In the drawings,wherein I have illustratead a preferred embodiment of my invention:Figure l is a transverse section through the wheel 'felloe and rim baseshowing the valve steinv in elevation vand a partial sectionl of thetire;

Figure 2 is a partial section taken on the the .valve stem receivingrecess or depression;

Figure 4 is a section on'the line 4--4 of. Figui-e ,3 'oi the-rim base,showing the recess or depression, with the valve stem omitted therefromF ig. 5 is portion of the rim base in edge elevation;

Figure 6- is a'transverse section showing my invention used with a. formof demountable rim;

a fragmentary view showing ai a plan of a portion of the rim Figure Y isa section taken on the line T--f' of Figure 6; and l igures 8 and 9 aredetail views showing the ends of a split ring, and a section there- 6of. respectively. o iln the drawings the numeral 10 designates :telloeof a Wheel on which a tire 11 is mounted. Ar rim base 12, which, in thismodification, is in the nature o a ielloe "hand, and has an innerdiarneter the saine that of the outside of the Wheel felloe 10, isshrunk on the latter and is provided with an outturned integral rib orflange 18. A. removable ring or annulus 14 is fitted over the rim base12, and is of the requisite size and so conformed, to lit .snuglyv andsmoothly against the rib 13, the inner surface ofthe ring being roundedand of a shapedto re ceive the outer surface ot the tire shoe or casing15. The edge of the rim base 12', opposite to rib 13 has a groove 16 onthe outer surface, into which is fitted a removable split ring if?,corresponding in function to the. rib 13, at. it provides a ledge forholding in and shaped and' arranged to act as a seat for tlie other sideWall. of the tire casing., 15. `The split ring 17 is `provided at oneend with an inwardly turnedA lug 17", and is of such resiliency that itcanv be ,slightly Isprung apart in removing and setting in place, butupon itsrelease will spring back into normal substantially circularshape again. The inwardly turned lug 17 is fitted into an aperture 19 inthe riisrsbase, and is thus held in the groove 16. The other end ot' thering 17 is cut away on its inner periphery, as at 17, to receive a toolfor removing the ring, as shown in Fig. 8. The resiliency of the ring issutiicientl to hold it in place in the groove16, with. the ends slightlyspaced apart.

The side of the rim base which is provided with the groove 16 is ofcourse arranged to 'come ou the outside of the wheel so that it isreadily accessible for mounting and den mounting' the tire.

At point on the periphery of the rim hase, a transverse depression orchannel 2O is formed, extending inwardly to a point about midway thewldth of the rim, and the inner protuberauce formed by the depresfsionisfitted into a corresponding depression of :Jl in the Wheel ielloe whenthe former .is

shrunk on the latter. The metal of the rim hase is cut away at 22 as isalso the wheel Alelloe so as to leave a free path from the outside. toa. point 23 in the depression.

'.l'hc tire 11, here shown, is of the s'o-called straight sido type, andprovided with the. beads 24, though it will be understood i; a tire ofthe socallcd clin'ier type flut be used with equal advantage, if de d,it being only necessary to use rings that provided with the integral arin?" 18 identical with the rin 14T L! i 7 mageos passes through theusual fiap 29 .and is 'bent .on an arc at 30 so that the portion 31 1sat right angles to the tube engaging portion 32,` thus beingsubstantially elbowshaped- Th stem is also preferably again bent apprximately at right angles at the point 32%,

`Whereit reaches the ed ye of the rim, and.

the portion 34C is turne toward thecentre of the Wheel, and' has thevalve proper 35 at the end thereof, the letter being provided i withthe. usual valve cap 36.

The several elements are assembled in the following manner-and order onthe wheel 10 with its felloe band or rim base 12 shrunk thereon, thering 1/1 slipped on and moved toward the inner edge until it iscontiguousl the rib 13. The tire 11 is thenlmounted on the rim base, itbeing merely necessary to bring the valve stem 27 opposite the depres-Vsion 2O and slide or push the tire on transverselyuntil it contacts withthe ring 14. The second ring 18 is then put in place on the rim base,and the split spring ring 17 inserted in the groove 16, by placing itslugl 17 in the receiving aperturer and vslightly springing'the ringuntil'it can be set in p ace, when the side isl released and the endsspring toward each otherand hold the ring in place. ready for use.

1n demounting the tire the reverse operal obvious', the

tions are performed as will be tire being first deflated.

If it'is desired to use an over-size tire and tube on the rim, this maybe readily done, for although the portion 31 of the valve stem 27'islonger for a larger size tire and tube, yet when used with a rim of lessWidth, the portion 34 will merely extend out somewhat farther than itwould in case a tire of correct size were used, since the space betweenthe felloe 1G and the ring l-provided by the out away portion 22-issufficient to permit this.l I have shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1, the"position thatdzhe portion 34 of the valve stem -vvoiild occupy were anoversized tire used.

ln Figs. 6 and 7 l have shown my invention ap lied to a rim oftheso-called dcmountaiile type.A

The wheel felloe 5() is provided with the usual elloe band 51y which hasan inclined face 52 Which is adapted for engagexnentby a similar face 53of a demountable rime; the latter being held against the face 52 bymeans of a Wedge shaped ring 55 shown in dotted lines Fig. 6, Which isforced against the felloe band 51 and against therim 54.

i and thus drives the rim 54 to its limit of The tire is then iniiatedand is .Lesaebe movement against the face 52. The Wedge ring is clampedin place by several clamps 4 55 arranged at intervals around theperiphery or' the Wheel, and forced in place b clamps 55 and bolts titlpassing through the telloe andA havingr `nuts 56" screwed against theclamps. y i" T he rim 5st is provided. with a ange gf? analogous inanction to the ring la in'FigJ- 1that is to say,;`it servesas aretainllig means for.` thetrre l1. A. ring -58,held5in place by a splitring 59,. is arranged to sup: port the other side of the tire 11, theparts being similar in everv respect to the corresponding ring 1S ansplit ring 17 respectively. Blocks 60 are secured to the felloe band andin cooperation With iller elements (lhold the rim trom circumferentialmovenient. v

The deniountable riin is provided with a transverse depression orchannel 20a which extends about halfway across the Width ot the rim andis freely open at its Outer end. This depression 2Oa like the depression20,

is for the purpose of receiving a valve stern 27a, lnountedin the innertube 25a, as set forth in the description of Fig. l, above. The stein27a is twice' bent'at right angles and its outer end 34a, which isturned inwardly toward the centre' ot the Wheel, is provided with avalve '35a and cap 36:

The manner ot mounting and deinounting the tire from the demountable rimis similar' to that described above in connection with Fig. l, but whenthe invention is used with a den'iount'able rim, such demountable rlinmay be carried on the vehicle with an 1nbearing,lr the inflated tire.

From the above description it Will be apparent that my inventioncomprehends a structure ot Wheel rim and cooperating),- valve stein thatenables an operator to manipulate even heavy truck tires with markedfacility so that their mounting and demounting involves practically nomore diiliculty or eX- ertion than the mounting and deniounting oipassenger automobile tires.

lVhile I have illustrated two modifications of my invention it will beunderstood that a tire-retaining rim constructed to overhane the feliceat one edge' thereof and provide with a transversely disposed channelextending inwardly from said edge of the felloeto receive the valvestemof the tire, the overhanging portion of the rim being slotted inalignment with the channel whereby the stem maybe Withdrawn from thechannel inv a lateral direction. i

3; The combination with a Wheel felice, of a tire-retaining rimproyided. with an annular edge groove and a transversely disposedchannel adapted to'rece'ive the valve stein of a tire, said channelterminating in a slot interceptingg,P said groove whereby the steinmaybe Withdrawn `from the' channel in a. lateral direction, and a. splittire-retaining ring adapted to seat is said groove. u 4'. The.combination with a Wheel elloe of. a tire-retainingriin provided withan annular Aedge groove and a transversely disposed channel Aadapted toreceive the valve stein ot a tire, said channel being open.A at ,l

the grooved side of the rim, and a split tireretaining ring vadapted toseat in said groove. x 5. The combination with a Wheel tiielloe of atire-retaining rim. provided with an annular edge groove and etransversely disposed depressed portion adapted to forni o. horizontalchannel opening?, upon the grooved side ot the rim to receivethevalvestem of a tire, a plit resilient tire-retaining kring adaptedtoseat lin the groove, and devices for lockingthe ring' in the grooveagainst turning movement therein.

6. In e device of the character described,

a wheel rim for use with pneumatic tires, 7 lated tire thereon, so thatit is only neces-@said riin having an outwardly turned rib at sary, incase of a. puncture to replace the one edge thereof,v and having a`circumferriin with the punctured tire by the one ential groove at theother edge thereof, and 10o a depressed channel extending transverselythereof, and open at one end, said channel being adapted to receive thevalve stem of the tire used in connection with said rim, whereby thetire may be slid upon said rim by a transverse motion alone.

7. In combination with aavheel, a rim therefor, a pneumatic tire on saidrim, said rim being provided 'with a transverse depressed portion Whichis unobstructed .at one', end, a valve onn said tire, a rigid steinforl`- said valve, so bent that a portion thereof lies' transversely ofsaid tire base, and within said depressed portion, an integral rib onone edge of said riin and a groove on the other edge, a removable ringcontiguous withsaid rib andagainst Whirl-i said 'tire bears, 'a secondring bearing against the other side of said tire and a removable e2;-tensihle ring mounted in said groove, Where; by all the parts aremaintained in position.

8 The combination with a Wheel having a elloe, of a tire supporting rimhavingl af depressed portion whereby "a channel is formed, f saidchannel extending @smily lso across the face of the rim, a filler blockupon the inner periphery ofthe rim and partly surrounding said depressedportion, and spaced lugs upon the felloe for engagingr the lillcr blockto lock the riin and felloe against relative circumferential movenient.

. 9. The combination with a Wheel i'elloe, of a tire retaining rimprovided with a transversely disposed depressed portion adapted toreceive the valve stein of a tire, said felloe comprising an abutmentada ted to prevent circumferential movement o the rim relative to theielloe.

10. In combination with a wheel, a de mountable riin therefor, providedWith a 'transverse depression on its outer surface,

rings mounted on said rim at the edges thereof, a pneumatic tire on saidrim, said tirebeing held in place by said rings, a valve and valve stemconnected to said tire. said valve stem lying Within said depressionwhen the tire is in position, whereby said tire can beI transverselyremoved from said rim, after iiernoval of one of said rings.

l1. In combination with a wheel, a demountable rim therefor, having atransverse channel extendin from one edge of said rim to a point sustantially midway of the width of said rim, said channel being closed atone end and freely open at the other, rings on said rim, one of saidrings being detachable, a pneumatic tire onsaid rim and held in place bysaid rings, a valve for said tire, an elbow-shaped valve stem for saidvalve, a portion of said valve stem lying within said channel when thetire is in posi? tion, whereby on de aciiment of said detachahle ring,said. tire can be removed from said rim by movement iny a transversedirection only.

12. A demountable Wheel rim-for use with pnefimatie tires2 said rimhaving a depressed channel extending from the outside transverselyacross the outer surface of said rim, said channel bein r freely 'openat one end.

In Witness w ereof, I have hereunto signed my name in the presence oftwo subscribing witnesses. f

JAMES E. HALE.' Witnesses:

E. C. LEADENHAM, C. A. S'riuw, Jr.

